Moon Safari

Moon Safari
Studio album by Air
Released	16 January 1998
Recorded	April – June 1997
Studio	Around the Golf and Studio Gang in Paris; strings recorded at Abbey Road in London; mixed at Studio Plus XXX in Paris; mastered at the Exchange in Camden
Genre	Downtempo[1]
Length	43:35
Label	Virgin, Caroline, Parlophone, Astralwerks
Producer	Air
Air chronology
Premiers Symptômes (1997) Moon Safari (1998) The Virgin Suicides (2000)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[4]
Los Angeles Times	[5]
NME	8/10[6]
Pitchfork Media	7.9/10[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[9]
Spin	7/10[10]
The Village Voice	A−[11]

Moon Safari is the debut studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released on 16 January 1998. On 14 April 2008, Virgin Records re-released Moon Safari to mark the album's tenth anniversary. The limited edition album came with a bound book, a DVD documentary about the duo, and an extra CD with live performances and remixes. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album at number 93 on their list of the best albums of the 1990s,^[12] while the magazine's French edition ranked it at number 65 on their "100 Greatest French Rock Albums" list.^[13] Moon Safari set the stage for the budding downtempo music style and, according to Nielsen SoundScan, had sold 364,000 copies by 2009.

Legacy

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[14]

Track listing

Original release

All tracks written by Air, except where noted. 

No.	Title	Writer(s)	English translation	Length
1.	"La femme d'argent"		The Silver Woman/The Money Girl	7:10
2.	"Sexy Boy"			4:57
3.	"All I Need"	lyrics by Beth Hirsch		4:28
4.	"Kelly, Watch the Stars"			3:44
5.	"Talisman"			4:16
6.	"Remember"	co-written with Jean-Jacques Perrey		2:34
7.	"You Make It Easy"	lyrics by Hirsch		4:00
8.	"Ce matin là"	co-written with Patrick Woodcock	That Morning	3:38
9.	"New Star in the Sky (Chanson pour Solal)"		Song for Solal	5:38
10.	"Le voyage de Pénélope"		Penelope's Voyage	3:10

Notes

• "La femme d'argent" samples "Runnin'" by Edwin Starr.
• "Remember" samples "Do It Again" by The Beach Boys.
• "Kelly, Watch the Stars" is used in the 2010 film Exit Through the Gift Shop during the moped ride, shortly after Thierry meets Shepard Fairey.

10th anniversary rerelease (2008)

Bonus Disc[15]
No.	Title	English translation	Length
1.	"Remember" (David Whitaker Version)		2:25
2.	"Kelly Watch the Stars" (Live on the BBC, 1998)		2:44
3.	"J'ai dormi sous l'eau" (Live on the BBC, 1998)	I Slept Under Water	4:10
4.	"Sexy Boy" (Live on the BBC, 1998)		3:10
5.	"Kelly, Watch the Stars" (The Moog Cookbook Remix)		5:40
6.	"Trente millions d'amis" (Live on KCRW radio, 1998)	Thirty Million Friends	4:34
7.	"You Make It Easy" (Live on KCRW, 1998)		4:45
8.	"Bossa 96" (Demo)		4:44
9.	"Kelly, Watch the Stars" (Demo)		3:46
10.	"Sexy Boy" (Beck "Sex Kino Mix")		6:36

DVD

• "Eating Sleeping Waiting & Playing" by Mike Mills.
• Music videos for "Sexy Boy", "Kelly Watch the Stars", "All I Need", and "Le soleil est près de moi" (from the Premiers Symptômes EP).
• Graphics and storyboards.

Personnel

• Jean-Benoît Dunckel – keyboards, synths, organ, vocals, piano, pan pipes, hand claps, glockenspiel
• Nicolas Godin – bass, synths, percussion, vocals, guitar, hand claps, harmonica, glockenspiel, piano, organ, pan pipes, drums
• Beth Hirsch – vocals
• Enfants square Burcq – vocals
• Alf (a.k.a. Stephane Briat) – hand claps
• Caroline L. – hand claps
• Marlon – drums
• Eric Regert – organ
• David Whitaker – string arrangement, conducting
• P. Woodcock – guitar, trombone

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1998–99) Peak position Australian Albums Chart[16] 24 Austrian Albums Chart[17] 20 Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[18] 48 Dutch Albums Chart[19] 27 French Albums Chart[20] 21 German Albums Chart[21] 56 Irish Albums Chart[22] 7 New Zealand Albums Chart[23] 34 Norwegian Albums Chart[24] 13 Swedish Albums Chart[25] 52 Swiss Albums Chart[26] 46 UK Albums Chart[27] 6 US Top Heatseekers[28] 41

Certifications Country Certification France Gold[29] United Kingdom Platinum[30]

References

1. Beaumont, Michael (20 October 2003). "Bent: The Everlasting Blink". PopMatters. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
2. Bush, John. "Moon Safari – Air". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
3. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-857-12595-8.
4. Smith, Ethan (6 February 1998). "Moon Safari". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
5. Hilburn, Robert (7 March 1998). "Air, 'Moon Safari,' Source/Caroline.". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
6. Mulvey, John (17 January 1998). "Air: Moon Safari / Kid Loco: A Grand Love Story". NME: 38. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
7. DiCrescenzo, Brent. "Air: Moon Safari". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 20 November 2002. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
8. Sheffield, Rob (7 January 1998). "Air: Moon Safari". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 30 January 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
9. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 10–11. ISBN 0-743-20169-8.
10. Salamon, Jeff (February 1998). "Bugs: Infinite Syndrome / Air: Moon Safari". Spin. 14 (2): 108. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
11. Christgau, Robert (23 February 1999). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
12. "Air, 'Moon Safari' – 100 Best Albums of the Nineties". Rolling Stone. 27 April 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
13. Magazine Rolling Stone, n°18 of February 2010, ISSN 1764-1071
14. Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
15. Moon Safari at Discogs
16. "Air – Moon Safari". Australian Recording Industry Association. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
17. "Air – Moon Safari" (in German). IFPI Austria. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
18. "Air – Moon Safari" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
19. "Air – Moon Safari" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
20. "Air – Moon Safari" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
21. "Air, Moon Safari" (in German). Media Control. charts.de. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
22. "Discography Air". Irish Recorded Music Association. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
23. "Air – Moon Safari". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
24. "Air – Moon Safari". Verdens Gang. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
25. "Air – Moon Safari". Media Control. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
26. "Air – Moon Safari". Media Control. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
27. "Air – Moon Safari". Official Charts Company. Chart Stats. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
28. "Moon Safari – Air – Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
29. "Certifications Albums Or – année 2001" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 19 December 2001. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
30. "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. 25 February 2000. Retrieved 26 February 2012.